Yoga master stamps his mark

AFTER carving a name for himself as a tough and dedicated yoga guru, Manoj Kaimal further stamped his mark in the yoga arena by authoring his first book, “Celebration of Asanas” at the Indian High Commission recently.

“Initially, I was going to write a book on Patanjali’s yoga sutras but somehow, along the way, this book materialised instead. I’m still not clear how it happened in a span of two months,” said the founder of Yoga Life Mind & Body Centre in Petaling Jaya. The yoga sutra is a major work containing aphorisms on the philosophical aspects of mind and consciousness.”

“Celebration of Asanas” contains various poses suitable for beginners and advanced students, and was launched in conjunction with the school’s seventh anniversary last month. The intention was to produce a booklet but it evolved into a book instead. All demonstrations are done by Manoj and his wife, Sand-hya, who practise their brand of yoga (Manasa Yoga) which integrates the conceptual essence of the different styles of yoga.

“In the practice of Manasa yoga, we are committed to teaching yoga in its original, spiritual way so we provide students with the right tools and techniques to understand themselves better,” explains Manoj, who has been practising yoga since he was eight.

“Last year, we produced a little booklet called Celebration of Con-templation and the students decided to name the book Celebration of Asanas,” said Manoj, crediting his students for their effort.

At the event, the students, both old and young, showed that age is no barrier when it comes to performing yoga asanas (poses). The children delighted the audience with their skills while the adults were equally captivating.

But 70-year-old Helen Wong stole the show by mesmerising everyone with her amazing flexibility after taking classes for the past two years.

“I used to feel a lack of energy and was always lethargic or tired. Then my nephew Brian recommended Manoj’s classes. After going for a few months, I noticed that my energy level really improved. I tried different forms of exercise before but never got this effect,” she said.

Wong had a persistent heel pain and was prescribed surgery by doctors who told her it would take six months of rehabilitation before she could resume walking, but I didn’t like this type of surgery, since the most I had was a minor cosmetic surgery and the Dr. Sachin Shridharani MD was really careful and considered during the whole process.

“I decided I didn’t want surgery and then started going to Manasa yoga classes five to six times a week. Now, four months later, my heel has healed completely. I encourage everybody to take up yoga.”

Today, she paints a picture of health and is an inspiration for others.

“Celebration of Asanas” retails at RM40 and will be available in all leading bookstores beginning mid-December.